A Long Time Ago
by ALilyPea
Summary: AU Logan Echolls wanted to be back in LA, with his best friends, not in Neptune California. He just wanted to have his life back, not have to start a new one. ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Veronica Mars, it belongs to Rob Thomas.

Author's Note: This was inspired by one of my best, Liz and a conversation we had while introducing her to Veronica Mars. I'm not a huge fan of Logan and Veronica being together but his character does intrigue me. It is an AU and takes place when he first moved to Neptune.

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Logan Echolls did not want to be in Neptune, California, one of the supposedly most beautiful places on earth. He was not interested in privacy or being in a more stable environment for his maturation despite what his mother had convinced his dad. He just wanted to be back home in LA with his best friends, going to private tutors and living every day on the set. He wanted his normal life back, not some watered down version of it where he had to attend public schools and be the best in class, the best in everything. Or at least that's what he was thinking to himself miserably as him and his mother drove in her Viper towards the local park, his sunglasses on as he stared moodily out the window. This was simply ridiculous, just because his mother had watched a little too much Oprah one evening and decided he just wasn't getting the normal childhood he should be getting at such a developmental stage in his life. He was twelve years old for god's sake; he was definitely past any developmental stage.

When they pulled up in front of the park which apparently also doubled as a soccer field, how monotonous, Lynn Echolls turned to her son and smiled, "See isn't this nice?" She asked him, her voice much too sweet and sugary for his tastes, she always tried too hard. "You can play soccer and meet some new kids your age," She pointed out, her manicured nails digging into the upholstery due to her frustration. She just didn't understand why Logan didn't want to try. "Let's go," She told him enthusiastically, getting out of the car once she found a space.

Logan got out of the car, resisting the urge to point because he was Logan Echolls and wasn't allowed to, not even when he was dragged away from everything he held dear to him. "Fine," He grumbled getting out of the car, stomping his keds down on the pavement. He walked across the parking lot to the swings and sat down on one, watching the kids play around him, none of them seeming close to his age with the exception of two boys who seemed to be trying to spin themselves around on one of the rides until one of them threw up or fell over. Soon enough his eyes were drawn towards the soccer field where a blonde girl was running across the field, easily evading those who were playing against her. She was hot, definitely someone to get to know.

When Lynn approached him, wanting to see what her son was so interested in she followed his eyes towards the soccer field and smiled, "Why don't you go over there, I'll just be on this bench here trying to make some friends," She told him, resting her hand on his shoulder she squeezed and fixed his hair before walking away.

Getting up Logan walked across the playground to the soccer field, sitting on the lowest bench of the bleachers he watched the blonde, not noticing the other girl sitting about four feet from him, watching him carefully with interest. When the soccer player jogged towards him and began digging in the bag right next to him. "Hi," He greeted her smoothly, or at least he hoped it was smoothly. "I'm Logan, Logan Echolls."

"Hello," The girl responded easily, shaking his hand before she took a long drink from her water bottle, "I'm Veronica Mars," She informed him, smiling down the bench at the other blonde girl who giggled. "This is Lilly Kane."

Lilly shifted over on the bench, shaking his hand and squeezing it. "Echolls? As in Lynn and Aaron Echolls?" She asked, arching an eyebrow in interest, a smile curving on her shiny pink lips. "I've seen some of your dad's movies," She stated, squinting somewhat.

Logan winced, here it came, the gushing, the flirtation, the need for some kind of attention and possibly a movie role. "Yeah, I'm his son. And you are the daughter of Jake Kane right; your mom's name is Celeste. She invited my mother out to some kind of luncheon." He still waited for the adoration, almost expectantly.

"Hmm well your father sucks as an actor, shame he can't be as good at that as he is good looking. Do you act?" Lilly asked bluntly, studying him she tapped a nail on her upper lip intent on finding out what she wanted to know.

"Lilly," Veronica gasped, clearly shocked by her friends attitude. "I'm really sorry about her Logan, she just…she has no filter or something," She apologized to him, her cheeks flushed.

Lilly rolled her eyes skyward, "Oh Veronica Mars, you need to lighten up a little bit, seriously. If Logan wants me to shut up I am sure he can tell me himself. Can't you Logan?" She asked, leaning forward so that Logan could get a good look into her eyes. They were absolutely stunning, causing him to squirm a little on the bench.

"Yeah my dad is a pretty bad actor," _And a pretty bad dad _Logan confirmed, smirking somewhat he pushed his hair out of his face. "I'm not really big on acting; don't wanna be known for the same thing as my father, I don't think anyone does."

Veronica smiled crookedly, "I certainly don't want to end up being the Sheriff of Neptune," She sat down, cradling her water bottle in her hands as they talked. Unlike Lilly she seemed unsure of herself, almost down to earth and just a little bit shy when it came to saying what she was thinking. "That's my dad's job," She confided.

"I would love to be an actress; I am just fabulous enough to do it too," Lilly bragged, twisting a piece of hair around her finger and tucking it behind her ear. "Don't you think so Logan? My little brother thinks I'm silly."

Logan swallowed heavily and looked at Veronica who seemed used to these kinds of outbursts of ego. "I know you certainly have the looks to be an actress Lilly, but can you act?" He asked, trying to seem interested even though he was definitely taken aback and feeling quite uncomfortable sandwiched between these two girls.

Lilly shared a look with Veronica and laughed out loud, the sound echoing somewhat across the bench. "With the way I'm developing I won't have to have talent," She flipped her hair turning to watch the soccer players now that the boys had taken the field.

"You mentioned you had a brother?" Logan tried to sound interested when in reality he was just studying the two girls sitting on either side of the, feeling his cheeks warming as Veronica turned and looked directly at him. He only hoped she hadn't noticed the way he'd stared at her legs, hidden by her soccer shorts mostly before he met her eyes.

"His name's Duncan," Veronica answered for Lilly, pointing to one of the guys running onto the field. It was one of the guys who had been spinning on the ride earlier. "He's a year younger then Lilly, same age as me, twelve. Lilly's thirteen. How old are you?" She asked him, reaching up to stroke her fingers down her shoulder length blonde hair once she removed it from her pony tail.

"I'm twelve too, almost thirteen though," Logan answered, shrugging his shoulders he turned to look at Lilly. "You don't seem to be the type who's too into soccer," He commented lightly, gesturing towards the field where Duncan's team seemed to be taking the field.

Lilly wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "I don't like anything that requires me to sweat or be insanely out of breath," She responded. "But what kind of friend or sister would I be if I weren't here to support my bff or my little brother in their sport."

"I guess not much of a friend at all," Logan's eyes were drawn once again to Veronica; she looked so cute in her knee socks and soccer uniform. She seemed like just the kind of girl he would want to get to know better, pretty and nice. "Would you guys like to come over to my house later this week maybe? Are you busy on Thursday?" He asked suddenly, feeling the need to make friends. "You can even bring your brother."

Veronica seemed ready to protest but Lilly smiled flirtatiously at him, "Of course we could come over on Thursday, just give us your address," She held out a pen and her hand.

Logan took the pen, fumbling with the lid and managed to uncap it just barely, scrawling his number on the back of her hand clumsily, "There you go." He noticed his mother waving to him, her cell phone pressed to her ear. "Sorry you two, I have to go." He got up off the bench and made his way quickly off the bleachers jogging toward his mum who was hanging up her phone.

Lynn smiled at her son, reaching out to smooth his hair properly, "We have to get back to the house, the movers have brought your furniture in and we can have the dining room and kitchen done just in time for dinner if we get back. And then you can begin unpacking your room." She glanced over at the bleachers. "Did you make new friends?"

Dodging his mom's hands as she tried to smooth out his burnt orange t-shirt for him Logan nodded, "Their names are Veronica and Lilly. And Lilly has a brother named Duncan, they're Kanes." He clarified, smiling up at her briefly. "I invited them over on Thursday if that's okay."

"Kanes hmmm? Sounds good darling, I'll have Margarite whip up something nice for you kids, and you can go swimming if you'd like, that is if you can manage to find your bathing suit," Lynn unlocked the car, sliding into the driver's seat. "So this Veronica girl, what's her last name?" She asked.

Logan rolled his eyes, just like his mother, to care more about a person's last name than her personality. He buckled up his seatbelt before answering her, "Her last name is Mars mom."

Lynn was clearly thinking deeply as she pulled out of the parking lot, trying to remember if she'd heard that name before, and if she had where she had heard it from. Logan wouldn't put it past her to be trying to figure out Veronica's net worth, "I don't think I've ever heard of the Mars family."

Sighing Logan shook his head in dismay, his family could be so shallow sometimes. Lilly Kane would probably fit right in with them, "She's probably not rich mom, sorry. Her dad is the Sheriff of Neptune," He responded, running a hand through his hair, further messing it up, partially because he liked it that way and partially because he knew how much it annoyed his mother.

"Well that's good, you need to make friends with different people, maybe she goes to your school," Lynn smiled warmly at her son, practically twitching at the sight of his hair looking so messy. "I've met the Sheriff and he seems like a very nice man, maybe we should invite him and his wife over for dinner on Thursday, and on Friday we have a dinner with the Kanes so it's good that you already met their children. What do they seem like?"

Logan slouched down in his seat, wishing he'd never started this conversation in the first place. "I didn't get to meet Duncan, but he's the same age as me, he was playing soccer. Lilly seemed pretty nice, but she wants to be an actress. She definitely likes to be the centre of attention." He muttered, looking out the car window.

Lynn sighed, remembering when her son hadn't been a pre-teen and had actually liked talking to her from time to time, "So you two will get along just fine right?" She teased him, happy when she got a brief smile from her sullen son. "Do you have a crush on either of those girls?" She asked, needling him once again.

"Mooom," Logan groaned, looking over at her he was at least glad to see a happy light in her eyes. Sometimes when his dad was home his mom because some kind of robot, it wasn't really explainable, it was like she was some kind of puppet and Aaron Echolls was pulling the strings. He liked it better like this, when his dad was away on some movie shoot, or off showing Trina the world. At night sometimes when the whole house was silent he would wish for something terrible to happen to his dad, so he and his mom would get all the money and finally be happy. "I don't even know them."

Laughing Lynn shook her head amused at her son who seemed lost in thought at one moment and ready to fight the next, she would never understand children even though she had one. "Alright Logan I'll leave it alone but if one of them ends up being your girlfriend I get the right to say I told you so."

Logan found himself smiling back at her, as they pulled into the driveway. "Alright Mom whatever you say," He responded, pushing the button to open the garage door for the car. Maybe Neptune wouldn't be so bad after all, especially if he got to spend time with Veronica.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all the character herein belong to Rob Thomas and that satanic network…

Author's Note: I'm sorry this took me so long to do, Logan is a character I struggle with immensely, and I have already finished half of the next chapter and will hopefully have it up by the end of the week. I've been settling into the groove of being back at school for my first semester as well as managing work on the side.

Thank you to jacedes, xosummerxo, xtobelovedx, vmarslovahhh18, Beccakell13, cosmopolitan, IluvVM, Samantha, Kristi, Mallikad, MarsLoVe4eVer and ghostworld. To everyone else I hope you enjoy this. I'm sorry it's so short.

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Logan rushed around the house, trying to make sure everything was in place and clean like his mother had requested before Veronica, Lilly and Duncan, who he had yet to meet, arrived. He slumped back on his bed; taking a deep breath he ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. He definitely hadn't thought he would have enjoyed being in Neptune, but the moment he'd seen Veronica and Lilly he'd quickly changed his mind. Logan was going to definitely enjoy Neptune as much as possible. And he hoped to enjoy Veronica's company.

"Logan your friends are here," His mother called up the stairs. She smiled at the three kids standing at her door and gestured for them to come in, "C'mon in, Logan should be right with you."

Lilly stepped in first, holding her hand out to Lynn she shook it then offered her the bouquet of flowers her mother had sent her with. "These are for you Mrs. Echolls; my mom wanted you to have them and also wanted to make sure you'd be coming for dinner on Thursday," She told the older woman, smiling at her.

Lynn sniffed the flowers lightly; smiling back at Lilly she kissed her cheek. "Why thank you sweetheart, I really appreciate the flowers and we will absolutely coming for dinner at your house later on this week." She turned to Veronica, "And you must be Veronica, I met your father just yesterday, he seems like a very nice man and a very good sheriff."

"Oh he is," Duncan piped up, shooting a look at Veronica. He clearly had a crush on the other youth, his cheeks flushed when he looked at her. "And I'm Duncan Kane." He introduced himself, smiling shyly at the woman. Lynn couldn't help but feel sorry for him, because somewhere deep inside she knew that even if he got Veronica now, or in the future Logan would end up with her in the end as her son always got what he wanted.

Logan bounced down the stairs, smiling at them he gestured for them to follow him, "C'mon upstairs guys," He invited them before bouncing up the stairs.

Lilly was the first to move, walking up the stairs behind Logan she turned to Veronica and seemed to grin slyly before she looped her arm through his, "What are we going to be doing today Logan?" She asked him, leaning her head on his shoulder she squeezed his arm lightly.

Logan glanced over at her, smiling somewhat even though his cheeks flushed. "I don't know, what would you like to do?" He asked in reply, not noticing the strange look that passed over Veronica's face as she watched the two of them together.

"Well we brought our suits if your pool is ready," Lilly replied softly, looking at him coyly from beneath her lashes. She knew precisely what she was doing; precisely what she wanted and Logan only briefly entertained the thought of not giving it to her. He couldn't believe the thoughts rolling around in his head.

She wasn't his kind of girl, he knew that, she wanted to be an actress and he'd avoided them like the plague when they'd lived in LA so why would he bother with it now. He knew somehow, that she would be famous some day.

"Sure we can take a swim," He nodded, glancing back at the other two. "So this is my room here," He opened the door.

"Oh awesome, you have a PS2," Duncan commented, immediately heading over to Logan's game shelf to check out what he had. "Can we play?" He asked, glancing at Logan, his eyes filled with eagerness.

Lilly groaned, crossing her arms over her chest she shook her head in amazement. "Please we are not going to sit here looking fantastic while you two lose yourselves in some stupid game." She looked at Veronica arching an eyebrow.

Veronica straightened up, sighing softly she smiled at Logan. "I don't really understand the appeal either, maybe we could…watch some movies and then swim?" She suggested her voice soft as she noticed he seemed to be studying her quite a lot. It made her somewhat anxious inside. She really didn't understand it, she'd never felt this way after just meeting someone ever.

Logan stared at her for just a few moments before he realized what he was doing and shook his head rapidly as though trying to bring himself out of a daze, which he was because Veronica was most certainly leaving him dazed. He turned to Duncan and shrugged his shoulders slowly.

"Sorry man but my mom always taught me to listen to a lady and if these ladies want to watch some movies that's what we're going to end up doing," He told him, clapping him on the back before he crossed the floor to the TV, opening the cabinet underneath he showed them all the DVDs, gesturing for them to choose whichever ones they wanted.

Veronica gasped suddenly grabbing a DVD off the shelf she hugged it to her chest, turning to Lilly, "We have to watch this," She showed her friend the cover.

"You're right we do," She took it from Veronica and popped open the case, putting it in the DVD player her and Veronica sat at the head of the bed, starting up the player.

Looking up at Logan and Duncan Lilly arched an eyebrow, "Well boys, are you going to get us refreshments and popcorn or do we have to do it ourselves?" She asked, pretending to be cross even though a small smile played on her lips as she spoke to them.

"God Lilly you can be such a bitch," Duncan commented, shaking his head in dismay. He looked at Veronica than Logan apologetically.

Lilly covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Whatever Doughnut I'll tell Celeste you used that language in front of me, she wouldn't be too happy with her perfect son then now would she?" She mocked him.

"You shouldn't talk to your sister like that man," Logan shook his head, amazed. If he had a sister, a real one he would never talk to her like that. "There's nothing wrong with me going to get the popcorn and drinks, this is my house after all. I know where everything is." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"So are you gonna come help me get popcorn and stuff for the girls or not?" He asked the other boy arching an eyebrow.

Duncan looked at Logan and almost argued but stopped himself before he could even say a word, he didn't have many guy friends and those he did have, like John Enbom and Dick Casablancas weren't the smartest people in the world. He was smart enough to know that he should follow Logan and keep his mouth shut if he had any hope of intelligent conversation in high school.

"Sure man, sorry about that Lilly," He ignored the rush of anger when he saw the triumphant smile on his sister's face. If he played his card right he could keep Logan away from her and Veronica, and have a friend to himself. Lilly would only destroy Logan and Veronica was his, she just didn't know it yet.


End file.
